WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 President Bush is confident Iraq won't nationalize its oil sector and, instead, will open it up to investors, including U.S. oil companies.White House Spokesman Tony Snow said Friday that when the dust clears in the fight over Iraq's new oil law, it will look more like Alaska than the oil sectors of Saudi Arabia.It's no more a nationalized oil industry than the hydrocarbon law in Alaska makes Alaska a fiefdom of petro-socialism, Snow said, gulfoilandgas.com reports. Alaska has state control over oil and natural gas, which supports nearly its entire budget, and gives its citizen annual payments from the hydrocarbon take.Iraq's oil and gas future isn't known. It has the world's third largest reserves at 115 billion barrels. Political wrangling over an oil law governing all new oil deals is ongoing.Despite the fact parliament hasn't seen a final version, let alone approved it, the Bush administration hand is evident.The Independent reports BearingPoint, a U.S. consulting firm, was given a contract to help reorganize Iraq's financial sectors, including oil. It is advising on the oil law itself.In Bush's speech last Wednesday, he predicted oil money to be redistributed to all Iraqi's, something that, if true, would be detailed in the final version of an oil law.Snow said Iraq's national government will collect the money.And, when it's all said and done, U.S. companies will be allowed into the sector.Copyright 2007 by UPI
